Cognition and Metacognition

Cognition and Metacognition

  • Learning Objective Question (LOQ) 9-1: What are cognition and metacognition, and what are the functions of concepts?

    • Cognition refers to mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating information.

    • Metacognition is defined as "beyond cognition" - it is the process of thinking about one's own thinking.

    • Benefits of Metacognition:

    • Students engaging in metacognitive practices (monitoring and evaluating their learning) tend to achieve better academic performance (de Boer et al., 2018).

    • Example: Using the LearningCurve adaptive quiz helps in identifying gaps in knowledge.

    • Concepts are mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

    • Example: The concept "chair" includes various types like a baby's high chair, reclining chair, etc.

    • Concepts simplify our thinking by providing large amounts of information efficiently.

      • Without concepts, communication becomes complex (e.g., asking a child to "throw the ball" without understanding of "throw" or "ball").

Prototype Formation

  • Formation of concepts is often achieved through developing a prototype—a mental image or best example of a category (Rosch, 1978).

    • Example: A crow as the prototype bird is recognized more quickly than a penguin, as it fits the typical features of a bird better.

    • Cognition Effects of Prototypes:

    • When categorizing people, prototypes influence how individuals are perceived (e.g., in recognizing different ethnicities).

    • Study: Belgian students categorized blended ethnic faces based on the stronger resemblance to their prototypes (Corneille et al., 2004).

Categories and Boundary Issues

  • The boundaries of categories and concepts can blur when items don't fit prototypes:

    • Example Questions:

    • Is a tomato a fruit?

    • Is a 17-year-old girl a girl or a woman?

    • Is a whale a fish or a mammal?

    • This blurring of boundaries can also apply to health symptoms—patients may not recognize symptoms of a heart attack if they do not match the common prototype (e.g., men associating heart attacks with sharp chest pain).

Problem Solving: Strategies and Obstacles

  • Learning Objective Question (LOQ) 9-2: What cognitive strategies assist our problem-solving, and what obstacles hinder it?

    • Rational problem-solving is showcased by our ability to create solutions for everyday scenarios.

    • Common Strategies:

    • Trial and Error: Such as Thomas Edison’s numerous attempts before finding a successful light bulb filament.

    • Algorithms: Step-by-step procedures that ensure a solution, albeit often tedious (e.g., generating all permutations from the letters in "SPLOYOCHYG").

    • Heuristics: Simple strategies allowing quick judgment and problem-solving, such as grouping letters in the example above.

      • Heuristics make it easier to process information without exhaustive exploration.

Insight in Problem Solving

  • Sudden, satisfying solutions often occur in problem-solving through a moment referred to as an "Aha! moment."

    • Example: A child's creative solution to rescue a robin trapped in a hole by pouring sand (Ruchlis, 1990).

    • Brain Activity During Insight:

    • Studies (Kounios & Beeman, 2014) show bursts of brain activity linked to moments of insight, particularly in the right temporal lobe.

Cognitive Biases and Fixation

  • Cognitive biases can impede problem-solving:

    • Confirmation Bias: The tendency to seek information supporting one’s beliefs, ignoring contradictory evidence (Skov & Sherman, 1986).

    • Example: Peter Wason's study revealing how people form incorrect hypotheses and seek supportive examples, which leads to incorrect conclusions.

    • Fixation: Inability to approach a problem from a new perspective, preventing solution development.

Decisions, Judgments, and Intuition

  • Learning Objective Question (LOQ) 9-3: What is intuition, and how can representativeness and availability heuristics influence our decisions and judgments?

    • Intuition: Fast, automatic feelings and thoughts guiding decisions without deep reasoning.

    • Reference: Smart thinkers often rely heavily on intuition in rapid decision-making.

    • Representativeness Heuristic: Judging the likelihood of something based on how closely it matches a prototype.

    • Example: The likelihood assessment of a person being an Ivy League professor versus a truck driver based on their characteristics (Nisbett & Ross, 1980).

    • Availability Heuristic: Evaluating the frequency of an event based on how readily examples come to mind.

    • Example: Fear of terrorism based on vivid media coverage, despite statistical rarity.

Overconfidence in Judgments

  • Learning Objective Question (LOQ) 9-5: How are our decisions and judgments affected by overconfidence, belief perseverance, and framing?

    • Overconfidence: The tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one's knowledge.

    • Example: Participants answering factual questions with high confidence despite low accuracy (Fischhoff et al., 1977).

    • Belief Perseverance: Holding on to beliefs even in the face of contradictory evidence, which often leads to combative viewpoints on diverse issues like climate change or politics.

Creativity and Its Components

  • Learning Objective Question (LOQ) 9-7: What is creativity, and what fosters it?

    • Creativity: The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas (Hennessey & Amabile, 2010).

    • Components of Creativity (Sternberg, 1988, 2003):

    1. Expertise: Well-developed knowledge necessary for creativity.

    2. Imaginative Thinking: Ability to see patterns and make connections.

    3. Venturesome Personality: Seeking new experiences and persevering through obstacles.

    4. Intrinsic Motivation: Engaging in tasks for inherent satisfaction rather than external reward.

    5. Creative Environment: Supportive social environment encouraging novel ideas.

Language and Thought

  • Learning Objective Question (LOQ) 9-9: What are the structural components of a language?

    • Phonemes: The smallest distinctive sound units in a language; English has around 40.

    • Morphemes: The smallest language units that convey meaning; e.g., "cats" contains three morphemes.

    • Grammar: The structure of rules enabling communication.

Language Acquisition and Development

  • Learning Objective Question (LOQ) 9-10: How do we acquire language, and what did Chomsky mean by universal grammar?

    • Universal Grammar: Theory proposed by Noam Chomsky that suggests a built-in capability to learn the rules of grammar.

  • Milestones in language development include:

    • Babbles many sounds by 4 months.

    • Speech resembling household language by around 10 months.

    • One-word speech emerges around 12 months.

    • Rapid vocabulary expansion by age 18 months and transition to two-word speech thereafter.

The Brain and Language

  • Learning Objective Question (LOQ) 9-12: What brain areas are involved in language processing and speech?

    • Broca's Area: Involved in speech production; damage can lead to speech impairment.

    • Wernicke's Area: Associated with language comprehension; damage leads to difficulties in understanding language.

Thinking and Language

  • Learning Objective Question (LOQ) 9-13: What is the relationship between thinking and language, and what is the value of thinking in images?

    • Dichotomy of whether thoughts generate language or vice versa, with recognition that words influence thinking.

    • The theory of linguistic relativity indicates language may influence the way individuals conceptualize and remember experiences.

  • Studies show that bilingual individuals may display enriched cognitive flexibility and nuanced self-perception across languages.

Summary: Key Concepts and Definitions

  • Cognition: Mental processes involved in thinking, knowing, remembering, and communication.

  • Metacognition: Thinking about one’s own thought processes.

  • Concept: A mental grouping of similar items or ideas.

  • Prototype: The best example of a category.

  • Algorithm: A methodical rule or procedure for problem-solving.

  • Heuristic: A simple strategy for making judgments and decisions.

  • Insight: A sudden realization of a problem's solution.

  • Confirmation Bias: The tendency to search for information that supports one’s existing beliefs.

  • Fixation: Inability to view problems from a new perspective.

  • Intuition: Quick, automatic feelings that influence decisions without deep analysis.

  • Overconfidence: The tendency to be more confident than one’s actual accuracy of beliefs.

  • Belief Perseverance: Clinging to beliefs despite contrary evidence.

  • Framing: The way issues are presented and perceived.

  • Creativity: The capacity to produce innovative and valuable ideas.